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Iraq: Rival factions struggle for power in parliament

The Iraqi parliament has met for the first time since elections in May. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is hoping to form a majority coalition and sideline his rivals, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Iraqi lawmakers currently jostling for power to form a majority government have failed to elect a parliamentary speaker, deciding instead to reconvene on September 15.

It was the first meeting of parliament since elections on May 12, in a country plagued by high unemployment, corruption and mass protests due to the lack of basic services and resources, such as water.

Current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addressed these challenges when he spoke to lawmakers on Monday. "We must focus in the next stage on reconstruction, services, and providing jobs. It is the time for economic reforms and expanding our security achievements," he said.

But now they're competing with a rival bloc backed by al-Abadi's predecessor Nouri al-Maliki, who says his alliance with militia commander Hadi al-Amiri has signatures from 153 lawmakers, having won some support from al-Abadi's bloc. Al-Maliki argued that his bloc now has the stronger position, as al-Abadi's coalition only had signatures of support from party leaders.

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Mosul: Deadly legacy of the 'Islamic State'

Mosul: Deadly legacy of the 'Islamic State'

Al-Abadi seen as 'less polarizing'

Al-Abadi has been seen as the preferred candidate of the United States. Julien Barnes-Dacey, the director of the Middle East program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told DW that al-Abadi is perceived as less divisive than al-Maliki.

"Al-Abadi has presented himself as someone who has been able to navigate Iraq through the very choppy waters of the last few years, in a manner that is seen as more inclusive and less polarizing than his predecessor Nouri al-Maliki," he said. "Al-Maliki is seen as more sectarian and more closely aligned with the Iranians."

Barnes-Dacey added that when Maliki was prime minister, his policies favoring the Shia majority boosted sectarianism in the country, which helped lead to the rise of the "Islamic State" (IS). IS made Sunni Islam a core aspect of the group's identity, recruiting Sunnis who were disenfranchised by al-Maliki's government.

Negotiations to form a majority government will resume when parliament reconvenes on September 15. But no matter whose bloc succeeds, al-Maliki and al-Abadi both face the task of addressing growing resentment of the political elite among Iraqi citizens.

Since both al-Maliki and al-Abadi have been prime minister, they are both considered to be members of the country's elite. "There has been a widening gap between the elite and the Iraqi citizens," said Renad Mansour, a research fellow at Chatham House. "One of the main reasons behind this emerging gap is that the citizens feel the politicians who have represented them for the last 15 years since the US invasion in 2003 have not done a good job," .

He added that Iraq now has a chance for a fresh start. With IS now driven out of the territory it once held, the next Iraqi government will have to rebuild the country and attempt to move beyond the sectarian Sunni-Shia divide that has defined — often violently — the country's politics in the last 15 years.

"The next parliament is crucial to how these next four years go," Mansour said. "This will be a test of whether Iraq can move beyond the cycle of teetering on the brink of war every few years, or if the country can move into a more positive trajectory."

The plight of the Yazidi minority in Iraq

The Yazidis: A history of persecution

For hundreds of years, the Yazidi community has been persecuted for its religious views, an amalgamation of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. Throughout their history, they have been killed, forced to convert to other religions and even taken as slaves. While the Kurdish-speaking minority community in northern Iraq had been attacked before, 2014 marked a tragic turning point in history.

The plight of the Yazidi minority in Iraq

Genocide

In 2014, the "Islamic State" militant group launched a blitzkrieg campaign across Iraq and Syria, capturing large swathes of territory and laying waste to areas such as Mount Sinjar, the ancestral homeland of the Yazidis. More than 5,000 people were killed and up to 10,000 kidnapped, many of them children. The event was described by the UN as a genocide.

The plight of the Yazidi minority in Iraq

Slavery

The "Islamic State" abducted hundreds of girls and women and enslaved them in the wake of the assault. The militant group created a database of all the women, including pictures of them, to document who bought them and to ensure they do not escape. While dozens of women were able to escape, hundreds more remain missing.

The plight of the Yazidi minority in Iraq

Missing

Thousands of men, women and children remain missing. Critics have accused Iraqi authorities of doing little to find those who were abducted after Baghdad declared military victory over the militant group in December 2017. Family members fear that up to 3,000 Yazidis will remain indefinitely unaccounted for.

The plight of the Yazidi minority in Iraq

Scattered

In the wake of the "Islamic State" militant group's systematic assault on the Yazidis, many have fled to neighboring countries, Europe and beyond. While some families have found refuge outside their country, others have been forced to stay in camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. Although the UN is helping to rebuild houses in their ancestral homeland, many still believe IS poses a threat to their existence.